When the “alien” prizes inside their cereal boxes come to life, two young boys and their friends must convince a suspicious US Army to unite with their new alien friends to defeat a hostile alien invasion.

SYNOPSIS:

It is 1969, and Commander Roger Griffin makes his startling report to the highest echelons of power at the Pentagon. Scientific evidence indicates that the United States is at risk for an alien invasion.

At the supermarket, an alien invasion of another sort is afoot, as Sugar Frosted Moon Rocks cereal, recently released, is making a huge splash. Griffin’s son, Jake Griffin, eight years old, is very excited to get a box. The cereal is featuring a spaceship toy – free inside! His older brother, Dan, aged twelve, is coolly uninterested.

At home, as Dad knocks down his after-dinner scotch, the boys see a commercial on TV which explains that the Sugar Frosted Moon Rocks toys can be assembled to create a Mother Ship! Jake’s excitement is shared with his friends at school: Billy and Peter, and a girl, Mia. They are amazed at the subtle differences in the toys as they collect them – the “pilots” in the toys look like the Sugar Frosted Moon Rocks guy, but their body types and facial features are all slightly different. As the kids continue to collect the toy pieces, the Pentagon continues its investigation, trying to impress upon a doubtful President that the situation is real and serious.

When Jake finally finds the crucial centre piece, Dan claims it, arguing that Jake got all the others. Much to Jake’s chagrin, his mother agrees, but Jake sneaks the final piece in the night and puts them together. The conjoined spaceships come to life – glowing and buzzing. Then, amazingly, the little men inside the ships also come to life. Jake is frightened and amazed, and wakes his brother. Together, they meet the disoriented aliens. Jake’s Mother Ship is captained by Commander Quark, the planet’s leader, and crewed by Snict, Gnish, Fwing, and hapless Ted.

Back at school, the kids have discovered the secret of the toys, and although they have basically befriended the little aliens, they are concerned that the adults won’t be quite so welcoming. The “uptick in inter-space chatter, electrostatic field shifts, and atmospheric particle anomalies” caused by their re-animation suggests to Commander Griffin and his crew that the alien invasion is imminent – and may already have begun! But with no air traffic showing up on radar and no physical evidence of the aliens, the department is at wits’ end.

Meanwhile, Commander Quark sadly reveals that he and the other aliens were sent as a first wave for a hostile alien invading force – one that has already invaded their home planet, and exiled or killed its inhabitants. When enough of them have been re-animated, their ships are programmed to fly to a pre-determined location – Washington, DC - where they are to create a wormhole, allowing the hostile aliens to invade, and dooming Earth to the same fate as their own planet. And the ships’ countdown mechanism has already begun. The kids are horrified, and decide that they need to find a way to explain the situation, particularly to Jake and Dan’s father, who they believe might have an idea of what is coming.

Before they can speak with him, though, the countdown completes, and alien spacecraft begin to fly out of homes, headed for the Washington Monument. The Pentagon finally has the proof that they need. Even as Commander Griffin mobilizes the army, Jake, Dan and their friends catch a bus into Washington to help their friends. Though they are detoured by road blockages and Army personnel, they eventually make their way to the rendezvous point. A cloud of tiny alien ships fill the air, while the U. S. Army presents a formidable presence on the ground. Commander Griffin is angered by his sons’ presence, but after an impassioned plea from Jake and Dan, he agrees to use Army technology to help them defeat the aliens. The tiny ships cannot be stopped from creating the wormhole, and the arriving aliens are initially able to deflect the more primitive Army firepower. However, the tiny aliens are eventually able to regain control of their ships and using a combination of strategies, are able to render the invaders helpless against the Army. The wormhole is closed and the invaders are defeated.

Weeks later, the aliens, scientists, and kids gather in a secure facility to say good-bye. The scientists have discovered that the aliens’ perfect atmosphere would be the moon, and the tiny spaceships have been programmed to take them there, where they will set up a research colony. After their heartfelt good-byes, they are off in a flash of sub-atomic light.